Review of Stan Lee on Turn Ben Stein On

It was a good interview, a fluff interview. I thought I knew everything about Stan- but I didn't know he was involved with that classic old "VD? Not me!" Armed Forces poster. (It was almost like it was the first interview in which he felt okay to talk about VD- go Cable TV!) There was a lot of deserved gushing about Stan- but never any props to Kirby, Ditko, etc. Everything about troubled Stan Lee Media was hunky-dory- either the interview was before the troubles, or they avoided it for a good plug. Stan knows how to hype something up, doesn't he? I enjoyed seeing Stan talk about what makes a good super-hero and villain, and it was fun to see him acknowledge that radiation- which he knows nothing about, and the public at the time feared- was used in origin stories so much.

I actually find myself agreeing with him on several points. He does mention a couple positives about Marvel and comics right now. I think that Marvel should be focusing (its great talent) on One Single Real Marvel Universe that can appeal to all readers, the classic heroes and new young heroes, no Ultimate Elseworlds crap, no reinterpretations of same old stories/origins- a Universe with a Spidey for the old readers and a Spidey Super-Stories for the young coexisting with no pretense.

The way Larsen disrespects fellow creators Bendis and JMS and their ideas is very uncool. I loved "Vertigo freaks," though. Ha! I also believe Spidey could be fixed in one issue with a good writer- I've seen Doc get put back on track in one issue by Warren Ellis.

John Ostrander throws his opinion in the ring re: what's wrong with comics/the future of comics: direct sales shops make comics a destination buy (no longer an impulse buy); comics shops are unfriendly environments for women; comics are marketed to the shops, not directly to the reading public; not attracting enough new youth and new readers (especially through the internet) [Comic Wire]

Review of Defenders #3 (Spoilers)

No big nit-pick list this month. I cannot give this title a resounding endorsement after three issues- but you might enjoy it if you try it. Personally, I am enjoying it. Because the book has Dr. Strange in it, I'm going to pick it up no matter what, so I've decided to relax, see the book's positives, and enjoy the ride.

I like Pluto's plan- and it suits a Defenders-style solution- and also Defenders-style chaos. The characters aren't as extremely insulting to each other or the readers as much this issue, which makes for a solid improvement. No matter what you think about Larsen's cartoony art- he tells a good, action-packed story through drawing.

The Lorelei angle feels weak, a useless extra, a necessity for the Valkyrie angle. And why would she want to rule an Earth of the dead? But then again, she's apparently supposed to be dead herself. If you know that, the angle feels even weaker. If only the Enchantress could have simply been used here. Hoping The Ice Queen does something cool next ish.

Doctor Strange is once again a non-factor. There's plenty for Hulk, Namor and Surfer to smash. He is shown energy-blasting a couple baddies- yawn. At least things go wrong when the others don't listen to him and smash the wrong thing- which implies competence, anyway. But why is Doc so surprised when Pluto dissipates his spell?

What this book really lacks and needs, is a little of the subplotting of Thunderbolts, and the character-development-interaction nuance of Black Panther- something to keep the adult audience who were fans of the original Defenders series interested.

Law Firm Rabin & Peckel LLP Announces Class Action Lawsuit Against Stan Lee Media, Inc. [Yahoo Finance]
On behalf of all persons or entities who purchased Stan Lee Media, Inc. common stock during the period from August 23, 1999 through December 18, 2000,
alleging the company misrepresented its financing, misused funds, and told lies to inflate the stock price.

And there will probably be more. Hate to see the lawyers go into shark-frenzy on a fresh piece of meat with Stan Lee's
noble name attached to it, but the shareholders of the company apparently were defrauded and that's got to suck.

Solid column about how lowering comic book prices and getting them to the kiddies at newsstands, the magazine economy (as opposed to the book economy), and Snickers coupons are not the future of comics [today's Master of the Obvious]

Neilalien At The Comic Book Shop This Week

Picked up Defenders #3. Look for my review here soon. Did not pick up Marvel Knights #10- it only lingered on my buy list for so long because of Doc's guest appearance story-arc. That freed up "Marvel money for this week." Which highly-recommended book did I get? Black Panther, Spider-Girl, or Thunderbolts? Black Panther #30.

Played around with style sheets and fonts on the site today. My apologies if you visited and it was unreadable. I was going for more of a cool comic book look. Unfortunately, browsers don't render comic book fonts very well. Also, since comic book fonts are all caps, it looked like I was yelling. So in the interest of solid information exchange, it's back to verdana.

Peter Paul, co-founder of Stan Lee Media, demands $5 million from The Industry Standard for all those terrible things they wrote about him. Also a retraction, any undistributed copies of the print magazine, and no stories archived online. Splash has obtained his letter to The Standard, with includes a point-by-point rebuttal against all charges. Says he's just in Brazil on old business. Visit Splash now for details.

AOL Time Warner caves on Harry Potter fan site. A small victory for beseiged fandom. [CNET]

Let me paraphrase that idiot's column for you:
"See what kind of column I could have written?

"I could have written that I stupidly expected a certain comic book convention, held every other month in a small church basement, to be the best and biggest (and best-ventilated) convention in the whole world- just because it's in NYC.

"I could have said that comic book conventions are filled with stereotypes, like the Simpsons guy and the Goth misfits. But it's just plain boring to laugh at those losers now. Let them die of cancer!

"See how I can add credibility by using buzzphrases like 'trades are the future of this industry' and 'CGC slabbing brings back the speculators and that spells doom?'

"See how I could have written that snotty, cheap piece of crap, but I didn't? Ain't I clever, the way I write "what I would have written?" Guilt-free!

"But let me say modestly, 'No one asked me to be the Cool Kid!' Leave the convention-losers alone to have their own fun. As long as it's far away from me. I want nothing to do with geeks who love to read comics and collect them with any amount of effort or intensity. I won't need the entire diverse spectrum of comic book fandom on my side to succeed in this industry- which I'm trying so hard to do- so I can patronize the poor bastards.

"Legendary fan-haters like William Shatner and me, baby- we know who puts food on our tables. Let me take a few more cheap shots at the Not-Me's, and teach by example what it is to be both into comic books and cool. Hey, maybe if I alienate comic book fandom, people won't read my daily synopsis of who I blew to try to break into comics, and I won't have any chance of becoming one of those dreadful middle-aged comic book creators working the con. Phew- dodged a bullet there."

The Trials of a Comic Book Hero [The Standard via Splash and LinkMachineGo]
I read online that in getting screwed over by his crooked Stan Lee Media business partner, and maybe even Merrill Lynch, Stan karmically received what he is due, the way he screwed over his working partners back in the day. Perhaps. Yes, Stan Lee should give more credit where it's due- Kirby and Ditko art/input clearly added a lot to many a creation or story. Yes, I'm sure Stan Lee is still filthy rich. Yes, he rode the dot.com boom and bust for all it was worth. Still, this story breaks my heart. There's something wrong in a world with a jaded Stan Lee.

Neilalien Got Himself Some Good Readin' Yesterday (Spoilers)

Spider-Man: Lifeline #3 (three issue mini-series, thus the finale): I cannot gush enough about this book. Solid story by Nicieza. Fun art by Rude. An adult/retro/good ol' fashioned Spider-Man and Peter Parker with full continuity. Competent villains- the portrayal of Boomarang was totally inspired. And a good Doc guest-starring role (he didn't make the key deduction, but then again, he's not the star of this book). The rainbow astral form was nice.

Marvel should have two Spider-Man books. One exactly like the excellent Lifeline, for the older fanboys and continuity-lovers who grew up reading a Spidey who grew up with them- and the new Ultimate reinterpretation for a new generation (which I hear is excellent and successful, but I have no interest). Two simple books, two simple premises, two large audience groups.

Top 10 #11: This is arguably the best book in comics right now, especially with Authority being AWOL. Processing the death of Sung Li through the introduction of the great new character Joe Pi was a very strong and touching tale. Neilalien always loves the stuff going on in the background ("Garanimals Man- Always In Style!")- but this issue of Top 10 is special. Doctor Strange makes an appearance! Along with Doctors Fate, Who, Doom, Manhattan, Fu Manchu, and the Authority's Doctor!
From the excellent complete Top 10 #11 Notes here:

(Page 12, Panel 1) The character in the foreground of the panel is the Doctor, from Wildstorm's Authority. Above and to the right are DC's Doctor Fate and Marvel's Doctor Strange (in David Goldfarb's words, "Eye of Agamotto on forehead (note chest symbol and distinctive gloves)"). This being a hospital, it's only fitting that we see comic book "doctors" here. David Goldfarb identifies the man on the right as Marvel's Doctor Doom, or "someone wearing Doctor Doom's mask and gauntlets." tphile wonders if Doom is "perhaps discussing reconstructive surgery for his face."

(Page 13, Panel 3) Walking on the right of the panel are Doctor Who (Dave Joll points out that it's the Fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker), obese versions of Doctor Manhattan (from Alan Moore's Watchmen) and Dr. Fu Manchu.

Writer Peter Hogan reveals in an interview that he's unsuccessfully pitched a Dr. Strange: Year One story to Marvel for a long time, about Doc returning to New York and the "real world" after studying with the Ancient One, buying the house on Bleecker Street, etc. [Fandom Daily Feed (Dead)]

Peter Paul, co-founder of the now bankrupt Stan Lee Media, and looking like a bonafide crook right now, has apparently fled the country in the face of an SEC investigation and three class action lawsuits by investors claiming they were defrauded. [Posted a couple days ago on Splash; I haven't been able to find a linkable news story]

Top Comics Below 100,000 [ICv2.com via Splash]
Nothing new, but the analysis is interesting. (Nobody knows how accurate these numbers really are, but they still stink.) The "price point comparison" item tells more than part of the story for me personally. Has the cost of putting out a comic book doubled after inflation over the last ten years, explaining why the price has done so? Maybe it has. But they feel so expensive nowadays. I consider myself a pretty big, seasoned fan of the comic-book art form- website and all- but even I don't want to lay out more than $30 a month for comics. Comics would do well not to be expensive enough to compete for the entertainment dollar pops of movies, video games, CDs, DVDs, holodecks, etc.

When I was a kid stretching out my meager allowance, comics were cheap enough that I was still able to buy any and all books that piqued my interest. But now, despite a grown-man full salary, I really feel that I can't afford much experimentation. I want to support Black Panther, I want to satisfy my curiosity about Thunderbolts and other titles. But I'm very picky. After Doc appearances, I'm only currently getting Powers, Top 10, Rising Stars and Authority, which to me is the ultimate cream-of-the-crop of what interests me that I feel I could buy. That's $15 a month right there. That doesn't include trade paperbacks, back issues at stores or conventions, and second copies (sometimes I still collect stuff, too). There's a lot of quality out there right now in comics, and it's an awesome thing to have too many good choices- but I can't support them all at the current prices.

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